10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week

2. John Cena Admitted He Was Wrong About Dolph Ziggler's Retirement Angle

Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

2017 has been a rough ride for Dolph Ziggler. His struggles are puzzling when looking back to what happened at No Mercy 2016. On that pay-per-view, Ziggler received a mega-pop by saving his career and beating The Miz to become new Intercontinental Champion. Just over 12 months later, he's doing next-to-nothing on SmackDown.

The retirement stipulation for the Ladder Match at No Mercy was the brainchild of Jimmy Jacobs. Talking to Sports Illustrated about his logic, Jacobs said he believed the IC Title match needed something to set it apart from other angles on SmackDown. As soon as he came up with it, Jimmy was horrified to hear John Cena tear the idea down and say he didn't think it'd work.

When Cena then heard the reaction Ziggler got for winning, he changed his tune and told Jacobs his skepticism had been wrong. Cena had thought the segment setting up the match needed more heat on Miz, rather than Dolph putting his career on the line. His very words were, "we're in the yay/boo business".

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.